Bury Mary: The Great Lich’s Bake Off

PDF Version  October 2018

Writing, Design, Cover Illustration, Interior Art

by Peter Reitz

Playtesters
Samantha Adair, Paul Baker, Max Futral, Andrew Hogan, Sarah Horsley,
Caleb Zane Huett, Austin Jenkins, Charles Kamen-Mohn, Karl Kamen-Mohn,
Nathan Lawrence, Colter McWhorter, Lucy Ralston, Nick Splendorr, Erin Stacer

Powered by the Apocalypse World engine, by D. Vincent Baker and Meguey Baker.

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

 Table of Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Theme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Safety Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Review Safety Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Create Competitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Describe the Lich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Name the NPC Competitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Determine the Five Rounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Optional Stage Dressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Playing the First Four Rounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Assign Stats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Determine the Lich’s Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Describe the Bakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Roll Moves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Interference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Bake Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Award Archbaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Eliminate a Competitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Endgame: Round Five . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Setting the Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Destroying the Phylactery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Narrating the Epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Example of Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Items in the Lich’s Magical Trove . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Schools of Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Hair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Eyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Clothing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Lich Flavors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Ancient Food-Related Specialties . . . . . . . . . . . 25
NPC Inadequacies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Campaign Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Character Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Phase Reference Sheets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Introduction
Bury Mary: The Great Lich’s Bake Off combines a
love for the friendly competition of The Great British
Bake Off with the fantasy tropes of games like
Dungeons & Dragons. It is a GM-less game for up to
seven players that uses the Powered by the
Apocalypse ruleset to keep the focus on a forward-
moving, cooperative narrative.
The Lich (whose actions are narrated by all the
players) is unfathomably powerful but exhausted,
and they’ve concluded they don’t want to live
forever anymore. As a result, the Lich has decided to
host a baking competition to attract the world’s most
skilled adventurers to destroy its phylactery. Players
take on the role of adventurer-bakers who are
seeking kitchen-themed magical artifacts in the Lich’s
possession. There may also be inept NPCs
participating in the competition if your group has
fewer than seven players.
The game takes place over several rounds, during
which characters will attempt to create baked goods
powerful enough to destroy the Lich’s phylactery.
Perfect successes are tallied at the end of the game
to determine whether or not the party succeeded in
their mission.
Materials
In order to play, you’ll need to prepare the
following materials:
 A campaign sheet for the table (p. 28)
 A character sheet for each player (p. 29)
 Writing utensils for each player
 At least two six-sided dice
Theme
Just like any other tabletop roleplaying game, Bury
Mary can be used to tell all kinds of stories. When
conceived, though, it was intended to explore the
following themes:
Fantastic Invention: You’re playing a baker who is
also an accomplished adventurer with magic powers.
Tap into all those inspirations when you’re planning
the competition and each of your bakes. Don’t feel
limited by the constraints of real-life food science!
-4-
Friendly Collaboration: Sure, each member of your
adventuring team is competing to win a magical
artifact, but at the end of the day, you either win as
a team or you lose as a team. This game explores
what it means to work together and support your
friends even when you want to “win” yourself.
Tone
Your group will naturally settle into a tone that
works best for you, but the following tones will help
support the thematic focus of the game:
Comedy: The premise of a Lich luring in adventurers
for a baking competition / assisted suicide is
admittedly ridiculous. Don’t feel like you’ve got to
play this totally straight. The Lich’s reactions,
character commentary, and other events around the
competition site can and should make the table
laugh!
Whimsy and Wonder: You’re using magic powers to
make magical food, so embrace how over-the-top
both the process and the products can be. Tell a
story about a feast of baked goods that would be
legendary or mythological in scale!
Safety Tools
Even though this game is written to be light-hearted,
roleplaying can be unpredictable due to each
gaming group’s personal style, and content can vary
widely from one table to the next.
Consequently, you may find it helpful to establish
Lines and Veils for your table.
Lines refer to a player’s hard limits – it’s that
content which players don’t want to encounter during
play. If a member of your table defines a Line, work
together to ensure that such content does not appear
in your game.
Veils refer to content that a player is comfortable
including in the background of the game but would
like to avoid spotlighting. In cinematic terms, these
are the moments where the camera “pans away” or
“fades to black.” If this sort of content appears,
work together to keep details about it to a minimum.
Whatever direction your game takes, remember
that the ultimate goal is to enable every player to
have a fun and safe experience!
Setup Preparing for Play:
Review Safety Tools
Before beginning play, establish the Lines and Veils 1. Review Safety Tools
for this session (p. 4). Even if you don’t anticipate 2. Create the Competitors
any concerns, it’s important to ask to ensure that all 3. Describe the Lich
players feel like they have a seat at the table. 4. Name the NPC Competitors
5. Determine the Five Rounds
6. Optional Stage Dressing
Create the Competitors (PCs)
To establish the details and tone of the game,
players will first need to create their characters. This
step is completed individually by each player.
Describe the Lich
Next, players work together to describe the Lich that
has initiated this competition. Powerful but ennui-
Our competitors are adventurers that seek the Lich’s
ridden, this undead spellcaster longs to die;
magical trove, fighting together to put the Lich to
rest. Consider the following questions about your however, only perfectly-crafted bakes can destroy
their phylactery—the dark vessel that contains their
character and record your answers on your
soul and grants them immortality.
character sheet (p. 28).
 What’s your signature ingredient?
Players should work together while considering the
 What school of magic infuses your baking? following questions about the Lich. Record the
 What magical cooking artifact do you seek? group’s answers on the campaign sheet (p. 29).
 What do you look like?  What flavor is the Lich’s phylactery?
 Which ancient or forbidden food-related
If you’re unsure how to answer any of these questions specialty has the Lich mastered?
or would like to leave it up to chance, you can roll on
 What does the Lich look like?
the relevant tables in the Appendix! Alternatively, you
can browse them for inspiration, modify them, or
Again, feel free to roll on the relevant tables in the
combine them as you please.
Appendix if you would like / need to do so!
Once everyone has completed
their competitor, take a moment to
introduce them to one another!

A chicken-flavored Lich needs

an entire community to support
its decadent lifestyle.

-5-
Name the NPC Competitors
Bury Mary is able to accommodate up to seven
players, but your group may not always have that
many people available. In order to play all five
rounds, then, players should work together to
generate a number of NPC competitors equal to
seven minus the number of players. If you’ve got a
group of seven people, then wow! Your game won’t
need any NPCs.
Example: If you had four players at your table, you
would want to make three NPCs to complete the roster
for that campaign.
Players should work together on the following
questions about the NPCs and record the group’s
answers on the campaign sheet.
 What is each NPC’s name?
 What shortcoming makes each NPC
inadequate for this competition?
 What does each NPC look like?
Optional Stage Dressing
If the players wish to do so, they can flesh out the
world of Bury Mary by answering questions like the
following. Your group might allow each player to
answer one question, or the table may determine the
answers together. Note the group’s answers on the
back of the campaign sheet.
 Where does the competition take place?
 Players present their bakes to the Lich at an
altar. What does the Lich’s altar look like?
 Is the competition being filmed or broadcast
to rest of the world? Or is it held in private?
 Has the Lich enlisted/coerced anyone to
serve as the television-style-host to the
competition? What are they like?
 Is the phylactery visible during the
competition? What does it look like?

There are more tables in the Appendix for these

questions, as well!

Determine the Five Rounds

Next, determine the rounds for the
competition. Players will need to agree on five
food-themed rounds and record them on the
campaign sheet.

Example rounds include things

like biscuits/cookies, breads,
cakes, chocolate, pastries,
pies, etc.

The Lich’s co-host?

The fate of an eliminated competitor?
A “living” reagent?

-6-
Playing the First Four Rounds
Assign Stats
At the beginning of every round, active competitors
will assign a +1 and -1 shift to two of their stats:
 Presentation
 Flavor
 Magic
Players can track their stats for each round on their
character sheet.
Example:
At the beginning of round one, Valerie has +1
Presentation, -1 Flavor, and 0 Magic.
At the beginning of round two, she has +1
Presentation, 0 Flavor, and -1 Magic.
At the beginning of round three, she has +2
Presentation, 0 Flavor, and -2 Magic.
Note: Starting in round two, the player who was
awarded Archbaker in the previous round will assign
a +2 and -2 shift to two of their stats instead.
Example:
At the beginning of round one, Valerie has +1
Presentation, -1 Flavor, and 0 Magic.
Because she is the current Archbaker from
round one, at the beginning of round two, she
has +3 Presentation, -3 Flavor, and 0 Magic.
Determine the Lich’s Criteria
Though the Lich tires of the endless eternity stretching
out before them, they are still an ancient and
inscrutable creature operating by a logic that would
shred the minds of lesser beings. As a result, it’s
impossible to predict what they’re looking for in a
bake before each round begins.
In order to determine which judging criteria the Lich
will favor, roll 1d6 each round:
 1 or 2: The Lich will judge based on
Presentation.
 3 or 4: The Lich will judge based on Flavor.
 5 or 6: The Lich will judge based on Magic.
-7-
Phases in the First Four Rounds:
The first four rounds of the competition move
through the same phases:
1. Assign Stats
2. Determine the Lich’s Criteria
3. Describe Bakes
4. Roll Moves
a. Assist (Optional for Active Players)
b. Interference (Optional for
Eliminated Players)
c. Bake Off (Required for Active
Players)
5. Award Archbaker
6. Eliminate a Competitor
During and in between phases, players are
encouraged to narrate any details relevant to
their character. This includes their baking, magic,
and any “talking head” asides their character
might make about their fellow competitors or the
competition itself.
Describe the Bakes
Each player should take a moment to brainstorm
what they will be baking for the round’s theme,
recording any notes about their recipe on their
character sheet.
They should feel free to include as many supporting
details based on their signature ingredient and
specialty school of magic as they would like. Players
are able to earn bonuses on their rolls if they are
able to incorporate these elements!
When all players are ready, share your bakes with
the rest of the table.
If there are NPCs in your game, decide together
what bakes they’ll be submitting this round.
Whatever they’ve made, it’s probably average at
best and entirely appalling at worst.
Roll Moves
At the beginning of this phase, active players will
have the option of rolling the Assist move to help
with another competitor’s Bake Off move. Eliminated
players instead have the option of using the
Interference move.
Once all players have had the chance to use their
optional moves, whichever player feels ready to roll
Bake Off first each round may do so. The order of
play then proceeds clockwise for the rest of the
phase.
Assist
After players have announced their bakes, once per
round, you can help another competitor using
flavorful ingredients, presentation skill, or magic.
Roll 2d6 + the relevant stat and narrate how you
assisted your fellow competitor:
 ≧10: You learn something, too. Both you and
the player you aided will gain a +1 bonus
to your Bake Off rolls this round.
 7 to 9: The player you aided will gain a +1
bonus to their Bake Off roll for this round.
 ≦6: You get distracted. The player you
aided will gain a +1 bonus to their Bake Off
roll for this round, but your own Bake Off roll
will suffer a -1 penalty for this round
because of the interruption to your work.
Hierarch Erasmus learned to
bottle the flavor of a
high seas adventure.
-8-
Interference
After players have announced their bakes, you can
attempt to help even after your elimination once
per round.
Consider: Are you using your magic from afar? Are
you still hiding at the competition site? Are you
haunting a player? Did you send an agent? Did you
leave tools or ingredients behind? Feel free to use
your imagination; anything is fair game!
Choose a player to benefit from your Interference
move and narrate how your efforts have made the
competition easier for them. The player you aided
will gain a +1 bonus to their Bake Off roll for this
round.
When that player rolls Bake Off, if they have a
result ≦6, the Lich grows suspicious. You’ll need to
lay low for a while, so you can’t use Interference
during the next round. Instead of using Interference,
narrate how you’ve dodged the Lich’s attention.
Bake Off
Each round, when you present your bake to the
Lich’s altar for judgment, roll 2d6 + Lich’s Criteria:
 ≧10: You’re a frontrunner this round!
Narrate the Lich’s delight in your bake and
then:
o Check a box on the campaign sheet’s
Phylactery Destruction Track.
o Roll against any other frontrunners at
the end of the round to determine
who will be Archbaker.
 7 to 9: You are safe… for now. Narrate the
Lich’s disappointment in your bake.
 ≦6: You’re up for elimination. Narrate the
baking disaster that led to this, and then:
o Roll against any other potential
eliminees at the end of the round to
determine who will be removed from
the competition.
If you can incorporate your signature ingredient into
the recipe, give yourself a +1 to this roll.
If you can explain how your specialty school of
magic helped you craft your bake, give yourself a
+1 to this roll.
Award Archbaker
If there is only one frontrunner this round, then they
automatically become the Archbaker.
If there is more than one frontrunner, each eligible
player should roll 2d6 + Magic. The player with the
highest roll is awarded Archbaker, and the other
player is safe for the round.
At the start of the next round, the player who was
awarded Archbaker will accrue +2, 0, and -2 to
their stats instead of the usual stat shifts; the higher
bonus represents the confidence they have gained
from their victory, but the higher penalty represents
the pressure that accompanies success.
Note: It’s possible that no players rolled ≧10 on
their Bake Off move. In that case, no players are
awarded Archbaker this round.
Priestess Ashanti’s Whisk of the
Winterlands not only slays monsters but
also makes a delightful whipped cream.
-9-
Eliminate a Competitor
If only one player is up for elimination this round
and there are still NPCs in the competition, the
player must roll 2d6 + Magic.
 ≧7: choose an NPC to eliminate instead.
 ≦6: The player is eliminated from the
competition.
If only one player is up for elimination this round
and there are no NPCs remaining in the
competition, the player is automatically eliminated
from the competition.
If more than one player is up for elimination this
round and there are still NPCs in the competition,
each potential eliminee should roll 2d6 + Magic.
 All potential eliminees roll ≧7: choose an
NPC to eliminate instead.
 Otherwise, the player with the lowest roll is
eliminated from the competition.
If all players were frontrunners or were safe and
there are still NPCs in the competition, then an NPC
will be eliminated this round. Determine which NPC
will leave the competition at random, by player
vote, or by considering any narrative elements
revealed about that NPC thus far.
However, if all NPCs are eliminated, then a player
will need to be eliminated even if they were all
frontrunners or safe! All players should roll 2d6 +
Magic. The player with the lowest roll is eliminated,
and all other players move on to the next round.
Consider: What does it mean for a character to be
eliminated from the competition? Are they imprisoned
beneath the competition site? Are they banished to
another plane? Are they the victim of some terrible
magic? Do they simply escape the competition?
Remember that the Lich’s motives are strange, and the
goal is to create the most interesting story possible.
Do what’s most exciting for each NPC and player!
Note: Once a player is eliminated from the
competition, they are still able to participate using
the Interference move, but their stats will not change
for the rest of the game.

Endgame: Round Five
The phases of Bury Mary are different during the
fifth and final round.
Phases of the Final Round
1. Setting the Stage
2. Assign Stats
3. Determine the Lich’s Criteria
4. Describe Bakes
5. Roll Moves
a. Assist (Optional for Active Players)
b. Interference (Optional for
Eliminated Players)
c. Bake Off (Required for Active
Players)
6. Destroying the Phylactery
7. Narrating the Epilogue
Setting the Stage, Destroying the Phylactery, and
Narrating the Epilogue are unique phases of this
round; all other phases are treated the same as they
were during rounds one through four.
Setting the Stage
Before continuing, take a moment to describe what
has changed for the final round of the competition.
Players should collaborate to answer questions like
the following:
 Has the competition changed locations? Or
has the competition site changed its
appearance in some way?
 Has the Lich changed forms? How does its
“true form” look?
 Are the competitors’ families and/or loved
ones present? … How did they get there?
And of course your table doesn’t have to answer all of
these questions. You can also add questions that aren’t
on this list. Remember, do what’s interesting to you!
- 10 -
Destroying the Phylactery
The player with the highest Bake Off roll in round
five describes the award ceremony at the end of the
competition. That player is presented with the
artifact they sought, and then the Lich’s phylactery is
possibly destroyed.
In order to destroy the Lich’s phylactery and set their
soul free, the players need to have accumulated
enough Bake Off rolls with successes ≧10.
The number of successes necessary to destroy the
phylactery equals the number of players minus one.
So, for example, if your table has six players, then
you need to accumulate at least five Bake Off rolls
whose results were ≧10.
Players should collaborate to answer questions like
the following:
 What does is look like when the phylactery is
destroyed?
 What happens to the Lich’s body?
 Does the Lich say anything significant before
passing on?
 Is the Lich’s soul ever visible? Does it look
different from the Lich as we’ve known them?
Again, answer as many or as few of these questions as
your table cares to answer. Add details, too, if you
like! Make this moment climactic and exciting!
Narrating the Epilogue
Starting with the winner of round five, each player
should take a moment to describe what happens to
them now that the competition is over. Feel free to
examine any moment in their lives—even the distant
future—but be sure that you don’t take so long that
other players lose interest.
If the Lich’s phylactery was not destroyed, what
does the Lich decide to do next? Would they host
another competition? Would they pursue some new
way of spending their eternity? Would they lash out
in frustration?

Example of Play
If you’d like to see the game in action before
playing (or if you need to see how the rules are
applied for clarification), you can read through the
following example text.
Setup Phase
Frank: Hey everyone! Thanks for coming to help put
together this example of how to play Bury Mary: The
Great Lich’s Bake Off. Let’s start off by making
certain we’re clear on what kind of content we’d like
to include in the game. Does anyone have any Lines
they’d like to define (p. 4)?
Amelia: Well – I know this game can be a black
comedy, but could we make sure that if one of our
characters gets eliminated from the competition,
their character isn’t… y’know. Tortured forever in
some hellish fashion?
James: Oh yeah, that doesn’t sound fun at all. I
second that.
Frank: Sure thing. That’s not the kind of story I was
hoping to tell anyway. Sound good to you, Helen?
Helen: Sure. No problem!
Frank: Okay, anything else? … No? Cool! What
about any Veils we need to define (p. 4)?
Helen: I think I’m good. Nothing comes to mind.
Amelia: Yeah, if we’re cutting out torture anyway,
I’m not worried about anything else.
James: Same here.
Frank: Alright, that works for me. Just remember, if
something comes up while we’re playing, feel free
to break into the narrative and let everyone know.
We all want to have a good time, after all. So…
let’s get into character creation (p. 5)! What was the
first step again?
James: Looks like we’ve got to figure out our
signature ingredients. Then there’s our school of
magic, the artifact we’re hoping to win in the
competition, and our look. Do we have to make it all
up ourselves?
Helen: There’s a bunch of tables in the back of the
book. I might just browse them and see if I get
inspired.
- 11 -
Amelia: I think it might take me too long to make a
decision, so I’m just going to roll my character
background and see what fate has in store for me.
Our players take a moment to brainstorm and roll on
tables, recording their choices on their character
sheets (p. 29). Soon, they’re ready to introduce their
characters. Helen volunteers to share first.
Helen: Okay, I’m playing Beartrude. She’s a wizard
from a sentient polar bear tribe in the distant north.
James: Sure, why not. This is a fantasy game.
Helen: Beartrude’s signature ingredient is anchovies,
and her favored school of magic is runic magic. So
that’s, like, enchanting items and imbuing stuff with
magical symbols. I think she was a blacksmith or
something back home? Oh, and she’s joined this
quest because she’s hoping to find Singed
Mahariel’s Eversmoking Blowtorch because the
winters have been growing harsher for her elderly,
ailing mother.
Amelia: Oh, nice, you snuck a little backstory in
there.
James: Poor mama bear.
Amelia: Mine is a little more randomly generated,
though I did decide to invent my own artifact.
Frank: That’s fine! I picked a school of magic that
wasn’t in the appendix, too.
Amelia: Great! So… I’ll be playing Valerie, a little
faerie witch. She’s got glittering compound eyes and
wild, messy hair that’s way too long. Her clothes are
made of smoke. I wanted her signature ingredient to
be super specific, so she always uses something like
“the hair of a remorseful dog.” And she specializes
in transmutation magic. That’s all about changing
something’s physical properties.
Frank: So what artifact is she looking for?
Amelia: Well—I hope this isn’t too silly—but when I
got the idea that she’s a faerie witch, I also thought,
“Wouldn’t it be funny if she were really tiny? Like
Thumbelina size?” And so the magic item she wants
to find is Cassandra Bloom’s Levitating Broiler
because she’s too short to cook anything from
above.
Helen: I think that sounds great!
James: Same. That’s not too silly at all.
Amelia: Nice! So who wants to share next?
James: I’ll go! I made Orioleoli of the Neverending
Woods. He’s specializes in druidic magic, and his
signature ingredient is leaves. Green eyes, dirty
hair, very little clothing on this guy. Definitely a
plant person. He’s looking for Master Porky’s Meat
Displacer. Orioleoli has been trying to eat vegan to
complement his druidic magic, but he keeps
accidentally eating meat.
Frank: He sounds like a little bit of a goofball, huh?
James: He is, yeah. I picture him being pretty new
to his magic.
Amelia: Well, I’m rooting for him!
Frank: I guess that means it’s my turn, then? … I’ll be
playing Svetlana Rasputin-Smirnova! They’ve been
specializing in the Goetia to help them seal the Lich
away. Their specialty ingredient is potatoes. They’ve
got smoldering blue eyes and a brown Farrah
Fawcett flip, and they wear Russian Orthodox style
robes. They’re trying to defeat the Lich in order to
take its Masher of Iblis the Destroyer so they can
crush the expansion of the Imperialist West.
Helen: Wait! Are we on Earth?!
Frank: I mean, sure. Or not. But that’s the mood
they’re going for on whatever world we’re in.
James: Let’s say it’s not Earth for the sake of
playing up the fantasy elements.
Frank: I’m cool with that.
Helen: So, next we decide details about the Lich,
right (p. 6)? Looks like we start off by describing the
flavor of its phylactery, then its ancient or forbidden
food specialty, then its look. Want to take turns?
Amelia: Let’s do it!
James: When I was browsing the tables before, I
saw that one of the suggested Lich flavors was
mayonnaise. I feel like that’d be good for an ancient
undead monster.
Frank: That makes me picture some sort of a
Southern woman who finds a way to put mayo in
everything. Can we call her Blanche?
Amelia: … Blanche Shreveport.
Helen: Then maybe her forbidden specialty has
something to do with pickling? That’s something that
- 12 -
always makes me think of my Southern grandma, at
least.
Frank: Yeah! What if it was, like, horrifically rapid
fermentation? To get that evil wizard angle in there.
Amelia: Oh yeah, so if we want her to be a little
frightening, why don’t we say her eyes are
impossible to remember. And she’s got a perm, but
it’s green balefire.
James: Very good. And what about her clothes?
Frank: To build on the grandma side, what about
some 1980s looking, Florida retirement home style
dress robes—puffy sleeves and all.
Amelia: But woven out of shimmering midnight! …
Y’know. Magical stuff.
James: Sounds good! Now we just need some NPCs
to flesh out the ranks (p. 6). Since we’ve got four of
us here, we’ll need to make three NPCs for today.
Since they’re mostly supposed to be easy targets for
the first couple rounds, we’ll give them an
inadequacy and a quick note about their looks.
Frank: Can one of them just be Merlin? Long beard,
oversized blue robes, and all that?
James: And his flaw is that he’s experiencing time
backwards. So he starts every round with a
beautiful bake that he deconstructs, and then he just
turns in a pile of loose ingredients at the end of
every round!
Helen: I have a name, but don’t know what to do
with her. How about Beverly the Mind-Slaver?
Frank: Spooky name. What’s she look like?
Amelia: I like the idea of some sort of mind-blasting
robot. Maybe with a brain in a jar for a head.
Helen: I just rolled for a flaw, too, and got “the only
seasoning they use is salt,” so sure, a robot with no
sense of taste would be perfect.
Amelia: Okay… last one, let’s start with this flaw
that “they’re a catperson whose hair is always
shedding into their bakes.”
James: Let’s call that tabby catboy Cricket.
Frank: Great! What wonderful competitors.
James: Next we’ve got to decide our rounds (p. 6).
Can everyone agree that we just have to do a cake
round?
Frank: I’m good with that. And also, sure, our families probably want to keep
an eye on us, too!
Amelia: Sure.
Frank: Great! So now we’re ready to start round
Helen: Yes! … Should we all pick one to finish it out?
one.
I’d like to suggest an ice cream round for Beartrude.
Amelia: I want one that’s all about breads.
James: I’d like to include dessert casseroles. I think
that would appeal to Blanche.
Frank: And I’ll go with a chocolate round.
Amelia: So, let’s go with breads, ice cream, dessert
casserole, and chocolate. We ought to save cakes
for last. It sounds like the most dramatic!
Frank: Yeah, I think I have a good idea for cakes,
and it’s definitely best saved for last.
Helen: So do we want to go through these world-
building questions (p. 6)?
Amelia: Yeah! It looks like there are five, so we can
each pick one to keep us moving right along.
James: Okay—well, I want to say that the
competition takes place over several nights on a
vast, blasted field. Cracked brown earth beneath us,
blackened remnants of trees stabbing out of the
landscape.
Amelia: Maybe a half-moon and a sky brimming
with brilliant but cold stars.
James: Yeah! And Blanche’s eerie-looking castle
looming in the distance.
Helen: I picture our kitchen stations being in some
pristine black velvet tent on the field, and the Lich’s
altar is on a raised dais, and it’s draped in this
stark, black-and-white gingham tablecloth. With
skulls weighing down the four corners, of course.
Frank: Her phylactery is this super shriveled
cucumber pickle floating in some sort of necromantic
ichor. But like, in just a plain old mayonnaise jar.
James: Blanche had been hiding her soul in plain
sight this whole time, I guess, huh?
Frank: It fits everything we’ve said about her so far,
right?
Amelia: Okay, so I’ve got the last one… Let’s say,
yes, this competition is being broadcast. It’s like Svetlana Rasputina-Smirnova:
Blanche’s so bored with her immortality that she’s Goetic Summoner and Potato Specialist
trying to draw in as many adventurers as possible.

- 13 -
Playing the First Four Rounds
Since the first four rounds of the game follow the
same phases, this example of play will include just the
first round and final round.
Frank: The first thing we do every round is assign
our stats (p. 7). We’ll keep adding to these numbers
as the rounds progress. You’ve got a +1 and a -1 to
add to your Presentation, Flavor, or Magic stats.
Amelia: I’ll give Valerie +1 Presentation, -1 Flavor,
and 0 Magic. She’s very small and is able to do a
lot of detail work.
James: Orioleoli is going to have 0 Presentation, +1
Flavor, and -1 Magic. He’s still figuring out how to
use his powers.
Helen: Beartrude is -1 Presentation, +1 Flavor, and
0 Magic. Those big polar bear paws make it hard
to work, but she knows a lot about fine dining.
Frank: Svetlana is definitely starting at 0
Presentation, -1 Flavor, and +1 Magic. I’m not sure
they actually know how to cook very well.
James: Alright, so next we determine what criteria
Blanche is going to use to judge our breads (p. 7).
Let’s just roll a d6 and… that’s a 2.
Amelia: Nice, Presentation.
Helen: Nice for Valerie. That’s not Beartrude’s
strong stat…
James: Nothing to worry about! We can help each
other when it’s time to roll, so we ought to be able to
balance that out for you.
Frank: Let’s take a minute to brainstorm, and then
whoever is ready first can share what they’ll be
baking this round (p. 7). Remember, both your
signature ingredient and specialty magic can give
you a bonus to your roll if you incorporate them.
Think about the presentation, too!
The players take a moment to jot down notes about
their bread recipes, and before long, James volunteers
to share his creation.
James: For this round, Orioleoli has made a 100%
whole grain seed and nut bread that’s flavored with
herbs he grew back home in the Neverending
Woods. It’s served on a stone slab, still sitting in the
leaves it was wrapped in while it was baked. It’s got
- 14 -
that flour-dusted, rustic sort of look that a lot of
peasant breads have.
Amelia: Valerie has made a tiny basket of
breadsticks for this challenge. They’re white bread,
lightly browned, brushed with garlic butter, and
have the lightest dusting of parmesan cheese…
Really, they look like any breadsticks you might get
at a chain Italian restaurant. What’s special is that
she’s used her transmutation magic to make the
breadsticks endless. Like, when you try to lift them
out, they just keep stretching forever.
Helen: Beartrude put together one of those tear-
and-share breads, where each piece radiating out
from the middle looks like a fish. She’s given them a
smear of anchovy on top, too… but I think it
probably looks like a mess. That sort of fine detail
work is tough with big polar bear paws. There’s
probably claw marks all through the dough.
Frank: Svetlana baked a braided potato loaf that’s
they’re calling “Baal’s Binding Bread.” The cords of
the braid undulate like there’s something inside
weakly attempting to escape. I also want to add
that throughout the entire baking process, Svetlana
never broke their stare at Blanche.
James: Oookay. So I guess that means it’s time for
us to roll our moves (p. 8). Nobody’s been
eliminated from the competition yet, so no one’s
eligible for the Interference move. Does anyone
want to roll to Assist?
Amelia: I think when Valerie sees how Beartrude is
struggling, she runs over—it takes a long time
because she’s so small—and tries to help clean up
this dough. Smoothing out the claw marks and stuff.
So, I think that means I ought to add Valerie’s
Presentation stat to this 2d6 roll and… that’s a 9.
Helen: Thanks! That adds a +1 to Beartrude’s roll
now, so now she’s breaking even at a zero… And I
think Beartrude is appreciative of Valerie’s help and
gives a harried but grateful grunt—
Frank: Does Beartrude… not speak?
Helen: No way, Frank. She’s a bear. C’mon.
Anyway, she carried Valerie back over to her
station to help save her some time.
Amelia: Anybody else want to Assist?
James: I think Orioleoli will have to pass this round. I
don’t think he can risk botching the roll.
Frank: And Svetlana is a team player, really. But
they’re very committed to this staring thing right
now.
Helen: Sounds like we’re ready to roll Bake Off,
then. I’ll go ahead and go first… I’m sure Beartrude
is just ready to get it over with.
James: Just picture Blanche standing up behind her
altar, disaffected by the blackened landscape
around her, with her cucumber phylactery floating in
its mayonnaise jar set lovingly off to the side.
Helen: And that’s when Beartrude arrives and sets
her bread down for judgment. So she starts at a -1
for Presentation, +1 for using her signature
ingredient, and +1 for Valerie’s Assist… That’s
actually not too bad. So adding that to a 2d6 roll
gets me… a 7.
James: So you’re safe, but Blanche is disappointed.
What went wrong?
Helen: I think Blanche goes to tear one of the
bread-fish off the ring, but the bread’s a little tough
and it makes a huge mess. Blanche knows that
Beartrude doesn’t speak, so she doesn’t try to tell
her anything, but they hold eye contact for a long
time. Something passes between them, and when
Beartrude returns to her station, she seems a little
shaken.
Frank: Then Blanche makes the bread erupt into
balefire before flinging it out into the field.
Amelia: Hopefully this will go a little better…
Valerie brings her basket of breadsticks up to the
altar, and Blanche leans over to inspect them.
There’s a sickening boiling sound, and Blanche is
wrapped in smoke that, when it clears, reveals she
has miniaturized herself to try Valerie’s bake.
Frank: As an aside, Svetlana says, “The little witch is
cleverer than I thought. A tiny lich is much easier for
the rest of us to deal with. It’s a shame she didn’t
make a more decisive move.”
Amelia: So that’s going to be +1 for Valerie’s
presentation, then +1 for using her transmutation
magic. So 2d6+2 gives me… a 10!
- 15 -
James: Great! So that’s one point of damage to the
phylactery, and Blanche is delighted by your bake.
Tell us about it.
Amelia: Blanche picks up a breadstick and brings it
to her dry, mummified lips, but before she takes a
bite, she notices that it’s one long breadstick
extending down into the basket now. Her mouth
becomes a vortex of gnashing teeth as she inhales a
stream of ever-elongating breadstick. She finally
stops, pushes the length of bread back into the
basket, and croaks out, “Valerie… if you do
‘simple,’ it’s got to be absolutely perfect… and…
this is delightful…” And then with a crack of thunder
and an explosion of black smoke, she’s back to her
normal size. But she’s got this hint of a smile still.
Helen: What about the damage to the phylactery?
Amelia: I think as soon as Blanche admits that she
enjoyed it, a hairline crack forms in the side of the
mayonnaise jar. But we’ve still got a long way to go
to defeat her.
Frank: And hey! You’re set up to be Archbaker next
round!
James: Unless I can get there, too! … So Orioleoli
proudly carries his seed loaf up to the altar and sets
it down in front of Blanche. He tries to give her his
winningest smile and says, “I grew all the grains and
herbs for this myself!” … He’s really banking on
Flavor even though that’s not this round is about.
Helen: You don’t have many bonuses this round, do
you?
James: Well, I have +0 for Presentation, but I feel
like I worked in his druidic magic by saying he grew
it all himself—so that’s +1 there. Then he used
leaves in the seasoning and the presentation for
another +1. Rolling 2d6+2 means… an 8!
Amelia: So Orioleoli is safe, but Blanche is
disappointed…
James: I think that as Blanche sticks her bony claws
straight into the loaf to test the texture, little plants
shoot up and start to wrap around her fingers. She
grimaces slightly and shoves the bread off the altar,
and it rolls a few feet when it hits the ground. With
her gravelly voice, Blanche says, “Completely
underdone. It’s a fine idea… but next time, finish
baking it.”
Helen: I picture this little loaf taking root in the
ground and continuing to grow as the competition
moves forward. Blanche is just too jaded to do
anything about it right now.
Frank: So that leaves just Svetlana, huh? … First
they set up a circle of dozens of white candles
arranged in some esoteric pattern around the altar,
and then they perform a stately march from their
station to Blanche, holding the bread overhead the
entire time and chanting an invocation to Baal.
Amelia: … How long does this take?
Frank: Oh, at least ten minutes. Blanche is half
intrigued, half annoyed by the time Svetlana finally
places the bread on the altar with a flourish. The
braids are undulating in place, much more rapidly
than back at the work station.
Helen: So what kind of bonuses is Svetlana working
with?
Frank: Svetlana has +0 Presentation but is using her
summoning magic and made a potato bread, so
really they’ve got a +2. That means that 2d6+2
is… oh, a 5.
James: Ouch, so a total disaster. And they’re up for
elimination.
Helen: What goes so wrong?
Frank: When Blanche reaches for the bread, the
braids unfurl and a hellish bull’s head bursts out. It
starts to chomp its way up Blanche’s arm, and
Svetlana brandishes their dagger and waves it in a
star pattern in front of Blanche, chanting “I bind
thee, I bind thee, I bind thee!” … But Blanche just
plucks the bull-bread from her arm, unhinges her
jaw, and sucks it down whole. Without so much as a
burp, she growls, “A bit overdone, isn’t it? … Very
gaudy. I expected better from you.”
James: That’s rough… what do our NPCs present?
Helen: I think Merlin brings just a big mess of flour
and stuff up onto the altar. Blanche blows it away in
a small cyclone before sending him back to his
station.
Amelia: Beverly the Mind-Slaver rolls up to the altar
and casually drops a huge chunk of crystal onto it.
That’s what passes for robot nutrition.
- 16 -
James: I guess Cricket brings up what would pass as
a great loaf of bread otherwise, except for the fact
that it’s visibly hairy.
Amelia: So this means that since no one else got a
10+ on their Bake Off roll, Valerie is awarded
Archbaker this round! … What does that look like?
A little skull pin for her apron or something?
James: Sure, why not? Sounds like the weird sort of
token Blanche would share.
Helen: Just remember that means you’ll be adding
+2 and -2 to Valerie’s stats in the next round!
Frank: And with that… It’s time to see who gets
eliminated. I need to get a 7 or higher with a 2d6 +
Magic roll to stay in… and yes! That’s an 8.
Amelia: Lucky! … But poor NPCs. Who’s going to
get eliminated?
Frank: It looks like it ought to be Beverly the Mind-
Slaver. I mean, she didn’t even bring food up to the
altar, right? … So what does it mean to be
eliminated in this case?
Amelia: Just no torture, remember!
Helen: I know we don’t really know a whole lot
about Beverly, but I do kind of like her. What if we
said something that, right as the Lich was about to
vaporize her in frustration, Beverly’s head detaches
and rockets into the sky… she’ll rebuild herself and
live to bake again another day!
James: And that’s round one, everyone!
Playing the Final Round
Our players move through rounds two through four,
repeating the same phases as the first round. By the
start of round five, three PCs are still in the
competition: Beartrude, Valerie, and Svetlana. All
NPCs have been eliminated.
Round five is included in this example of play because
it includes modified phases for the end of the game.
Amelia: Ah man, I’m gonna miss Cricket. Good on
him for getting so far into the competition, the
rascal.
James: I still can’t believe he beat Orioleoli going
into round four.
Helen: But congratulations to Frank for finally
getting Archbaker last round!
Frank: Finally! Svetlana’s been working hard. Amelia: But the only way to win is if we all win
together. They’ll have another chance in another
James: Before we start round five, we’ve got to set
story, perhaps!
the stage for the finale (p. 10). What kinds of things
are different this round? Helen: So, everyone should take a minute to
brainstorm their bakes for the cake round.
Helen: The ground was always cracked and blasted,
right? So maybe there’s some sort of ominous mist The players take a moment to jot down notes about
issuing forth all around our tent now. their cake recipes, and before long, Amelia volunteers
to share her creation.
Amelia: I feel like it would be most dramatic if, as
the round continued, the stars slowly winked out of Amelia: For this final round, Valerie has decided to
the sky. bake an ever-transmuting layer cake… It looks
pretty simple on the outside—Valerie didn’t have a
James: Blanche is probably in her “final boss”
lot of time for decorating because of all the
mode, right? So what if she’s a couple feet taller, a
enchantments she imbued—but every bite of the
little shadowy and insubstantial… and maybe it
cake has a different flavor.
literally stings the eyes to look at her, she’s brimming
with so much arcane energy. James: That’s a cool idea! Is it still really tiny?
Frank: That all sounds good to me. Amelia: Absolutely! It’s like a petit four! What did
Beartrude make?
James: So stats are next for you guys. Orioleoli’s
don’t change since he’s been eliminated. Helen: Beartrude’s cake looks like a penguin! She
really wanted to evoke the flavors of her homeland,
Frank: With the Archbaker pin, that means… Going
so she’s made a sea-salt ice cream cake. She’s
into this round, Svetlana has +0 Presentation, -6
carved runes like “cold” and “ice” across its tummy,
Flavor, and +6 Magic.
so it’s perfect for summer weather because it
Amelia: Is that such a good idea?! literally can’t melt in the heat.
Frank: Listen, Svetlana wants to specialize, not
generalize.
Amelia: Valerie is sticking with the balanced
approach. She’s going to have +1 Presentation, -1
Flavor, and +0 Magic this round.
Helen: Beartrude’s probably somewhere in
between. She’s got -5 Presentation—those
paws!—+3 Flavor, and +2 Magic.
James: Looks like it would be best for
everyone if Blanche decided to judge
based on Magic, so let’s see… a 3.
That’s Flavor.
Frank: … Of course.
Amelia: There, there. We just need
one more 10+ on a Bake Off roll to
destroy the phylactery. If we all chip in, A sea-salt ice cream
Beartrude can definitely do it! cake perfect for a
summer day.
Frank: But Svetlana has grand designs…

- 17 -
James: Cute!
Frank: Svetlana made a nine-layer wedding cake,
with the top of each tier inscribed with the seal of a
king of hell in buttercream icing. It’s a spectacle to
behold and is absolutely brimming with demonic
energy, but I feel like the fact that it’s a potato-
based wedding cake means it probably tastes like it
came from hell, too.
James: So going into the moves phase, I think
Orioleoli is going to use Interference to help
Beartrude get a +1 to Flavor. We really need her
to get that last success to set Blanche free!
Amelia: What’s that going to look like?
James: Well, remember the tree that sprouted from
the seed loaf in the first round? … It’s been going
through an accelerated growth, and now there’s a
single tiny lemon on it. As Beartrude is giving her
cake batter a taste test, she feels like it needs just a
little more brightness. That’s when she notices the
lemon and adds a little of the zest to her batter!
Helen: And she remembers that sweet druid and all
the laughs they shared through the stress of the
competition, and she hopes he escaped Blanche’s
hellhounds when he had to run away after his
elimination.
Frank: I guess Svetlana will help too… Under the
pretense of helping Beartrude get her runes totally
perfect, they hide the seal of the demon prince
Orobas on the back of the cake.
Amelia: … What exactly does that do?
Frank: Orobas is supposed to speak the truth no
matter what. So I say that means tasting this cake
will convey a vision of Truth so powerful that it can’t
help but shatter Blanche’s phylactery.
James: Don’t forget to roll!
Frank: Oh, right. So, that’s a Magic roll at 2d6+6…
and I got an 11. Now we both get a +1 to our Bake
Off rolls!
Helen: I think your bonus is because, while helping
Beartrude, you got in some practice with your
piping, and you were able to maintain a steadier
hand with your own decorations than you would
have otherwise.
Amelia: So, finally, Valerie is going to Assist by
doing some fine detail work on the penguin cake.
She gets in there and helps texture the icing for the
feathers, makes the eyes especially glossy, and so
on. With 2d6+1 Presentation, that’s… a 9.
Helen: So that’s a total of +3 to Beartrude’s Bake
Off roll! Thanks, everyone!
James: Since Beartrude’s got the best chance of
success, let’s save her for last… Svetlana, would you
like to go first?
Frank: Sure! … Svetlana has the wedding cake on a
rolling cart, and they push it up to the altar. Starting
from the bottom tier and moving upward, the
demonic seals begin to glow red with the phantom
faces of their respective demon kings writhing in
agony. Blanche smiles and whispers “Finally, you’ve
mastered the art of presentation… but it all comes
down to the taste…” So Svetlana rolls 2d6-3 since
they got the bonus for their magic, ingredient, and
Assist roll… and that’s still a 5. Ouch.
Helen: Well, at least there’s no elimination this
round.
Frank: I think Blanche cuts a slice of the cake with
one of her knife-like talons, and as she lifts it onto a
serving plate, that’s when everyone realizes—
Svetlana didn’t just use potatoes as a specialty
ingredient. The entire cake is just buttercream-
frosted mashed potatoes.
Amelia: Oh yeah, that wouldn’t be satisfying…
Frank: I think Blanche still takes a bite, but she holds
long, silent, and cold eye contact with Svetlana as
she chews. She swallows, then reaches a single
finger out to the cake and disintegrates it in one
touch.
Amelia: That means Valerie is up next. She
probably needs Beartrude’s help to get up to the
altar in a timely fashion.
Helen: Oh sure, Beartrude will gladly give Valerie a
ride. They’re lifelong friends now!
Amelia: Blanche casts whatever spell she’s been
using to shrink herself yet again and inspects the
miniature cake that Valerie has prepared. I think the
only indication that it’s anything special is that the
frosting slowly shifts colors as it waits on the altar.
So now I roll 2d6+0 since my Flavor penalty was
negated by using my transmutation magic… which
gives me a 7.
James: What a shame! Helen: I think I’ll just build off of that last thing with
Valerie and say that as her phylactery has been
Amelia: I think that Blanche is actually loving the
breaking, she’s been regaining more memories of
cake at first. Everyone can hear her mutter
her old human life… She tastes the cake, and at first
incomprehensibly to herself, but then, on the third or
she isn’t all that impressed. But then the taste of the
fourth bite, she freezes up, and lets the bits of cake
sea salt hits her, and the black pits of her eyes grow
just dribble from her open mouth. She leans in to
wide. She sees herself—much younger—on a beach.
Valerie and whispers, “I never wanted to taste that
It’s cloudy overhead, and she’s standing there
again. I didn’t want to remember those years. That
holding hands with a young man as they let the
young man. His eyes—” but before she reveals
waves lap at their bare feet. He kisses her cheek.
anything more, she’s enveloped in black smoke and
She blushes. He whispers something to her, but it’s
returns to her previous size.
not for us to know—
Frank: Any volunteers to write a fanfic about
Amelia: Oh, come on!
Blanche’s long-lost lover?
Helen: But what our characters do see is a single fat
James: She’s lived a long time, after all… I don’t
tear roll down from one of Blanche’s
know why I feel so surprised.
incomprehensible eye sockets, and when it drops
Helen: But before we worry about that, Beartrude is from her cheek and hits the ground, her phylactery
up! She manages to get her ice cream cake up to shatters with a deafening crack.
the altar more-or-less intact, and she awaits
James: How is the phylactery finally destroyed,
judgment while standing on her hind legs in the most
then? (p. 10)
dignified pose she can manage. She’ll roll 2d6+6,
thanks to her +3 Flavor and the +3 she got from Frank: I picture the cracks in the mayonnaise jar
everyone else’s help… And that’s a 10! Woo! shooting out beams of light before the glass
explodes in all directions.
Frank: We did it! Even if it’s the very last roll, we
did it. So what delighted her so much about it?

The Lich Blanche Shreveport

achieved immortality by pickling
her soul in a mayonnaise jar.

- 19
18 -
Amelia: What happens to her body? … I feel like Frank: Sveltana travels home and faces a great
her incredibly advanced age would catch up to her deal of castigation from their family—without the
all at once, and she’d start to crumble into dust. imprisoned soul of a lich, there’s no way for the
Rasputina-Smirnova family to fuel the conquest they
James: But before that happens, we catch a glimpse
had planned. Svetlana fades from the public eye
of her soul dissipating into the air above her. It’s
for a few decades, but they spend that time quietly
veiled in this brilliant golden-black light, but it looks
amassing a legion of spirit servants, waiting until the
to be somewhere between the young woman we
time is right for their grand return to the spotlight.
saw in the memory and the ancient monster we’ve
seen during the competition. It’s probably whatever James: I think Orioleoli shakes off the hellhounds
age she was when she was last human. that had been chasing him for days and finally
makes it back home to the Neverending Woods.
Helen: The ground stops issuing that thick mist. The
People heard about the Great Lich’s Bake Off, and
stars return to the sky… and then what?
especially about his lemon tree’s contributions to the
James: Well, Beartrude has to get her prize final blow against Blanche, and the druids welcome
somehow, doesn’t she? him back home as a hero. He retires from the
Helen: Maybe as our adventurers explore Blanche’s adventuring life and starts a booming citrus business
slowly crumbling castle, they find a treasure trove at that totally turns his life around.
the end of a long and winding passage. Amelia: Valerie still has a hard time cooking things
Amelia: It’s filled with all sorts of gold, gems, and from the top, and since it turns out Blanche didn’t
arcane reagents. And maybe it’s even got some have Cassandra Bloom’s Levitating Broiler in her
other cool minor magic items… but the only artifact treasure trove, Valerie embarks on another
we find there is yours, Beartrude. adventure in pursuit of culinary perfection. She was
last seen setting off for the capital of the dark elves
Frank: So what happens to everyone after the deep beneath the earth.
competition? I want to hear an epilogue (p. 10)!
Frank: Wow! And that’s it for tonight! Thanks so
Helen: Beartrude takes Singed Mahariel’s much for playing, everyone!
Eversmoking Blowtorch back to the North Pole, and
with it she’s able to ensure that her mother is able to
spend their last winters together free of care. After
her mother eventually passes, Beartrude takes the
blowtorch apart and studies its power. She develops
a runic magic version of the artifact that she’s then
able to share with homes in the North Pole and all
across the world. It makes the winters easier and
more comfortable for everyone and hey, it’s rune
magic, so it’s totally safe and clean.

- 20 -
Beartrude
Runic Blacksmith
Anchovie Specialist
Winner of the Great Lich’s Bake Off

- 21 -
Appendices
Roll 2d6 to use the tables in this section. Choose what you like best from the results.
For example, rolling a 2 and a 4 on the item tables below lets you choose from either Lord Roshan’s Havoc
Grater or Little Keela’s Mixing Bowl of Transcendence.
Items in the Lich’s Magical Trove
Set 1
1 Ol’ Jimmy’s Auto-Flippin’ Spatula
2 Matriarch Carmilla’s Dragon Egg Timer
3 Master Yen’s Ladle of the Archmagi
4 Earl Ravid’s Far-Reaching Tongs
5 Stalwart Georgie’s Pressurized Grill
6 Brilliant Neelam’s Shadowform Spoon
Set 3
1 Lady Bluebird’s Golembane Can Opener
2 Crafty Esme’s Infinite Corkscrew
3 Queen Arya’s Ghostvision Thermometer
4 Shifty Sam’s Cups of Displacement
5 The Storm Lord’s Crackling Peppermill
6 Gracious Shannon’s Colander of the Dryad
Set 5
1 Curator Aeron’s Daredevil Saucepan
2 Deacon Harlow’s Loathsome Sheet Pan
3 Singed Mahariel’s Eversmoking Blowtorch
4 Peerless Puck’s Halfling Stockpot
5 Challenger Anah’s Relentless Slotted Spoon
6 Cruel Otto’s Poisoner Fork
- 22 -
Set 2
1 Priestess Ashanti’s Whisk of the Winterlands
2 Quick Connie’s Vorpal Chef’s Knife
3 The Hag Lupe’s Merciless Mortar
4 Lord Roshan’s Havoc Grater
5 Exarch Sydney’s Kitchen Shears of Fortune
6 Paragon Toby’s Dwarvenkind Potato Masher
Set 4
1 Overlord Lim’s Armored Cutting Board
2 Little Keela’s Mixing Bowl of Transcendence
3 Keeper Mohana’s Elvish Vegetable Peeler
4 King Eden’s Verdant Juicer of Health
5 Sly Bertie’s Skillet of Deception
6 Enchanter Whitney’s Pot of Tricks
Set 6
1 Gutsy Rocky’s Oven Mitts of Mighty Fists
2 Fearless Loreto’s Universal Blender
3 Gallant Kerry’s Deathwatch Food Wrap
4 Bog Witch Hulga’s Merciful Pestle
5 Gluttonous Taylor’s Vampiric Sponge
6 Wise Yaffe’s Truesight Kitchen Scale
Schools of Magic
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 Abjuration Enchantment Evocation Necromancy Divination Illusion
2 Transmutation Conjuration Cryomancy Pyromancy Geomancy Angelology
3 Demonology Aberrant Magic Chaos Magic Law Magic Primal Magic Blood Magic
4 Faewild Magic Shamanism Chronomancy Chromamancy Alchemy Herbology
5 Technomancy Shadow Magic Metamagic Oneiromancy Runic Magic Astrology
6 Arithmancy Bardic Magic Healing Magic Stage Magic Draconic Magic Hexes

Abjuration – magic of protection (barriers, negation, banishment, etc.)

Enchantment – magic of the minds of others (charms, influencing behavior, direct control, etc.)
Evocation – magic of energy manipulation (fireballs, lightning bolts, ice storms)
Necromancy – magic of life and death (extending life, draining energy, controlling undead, etc.)
Divination – magic of information (contacting gods, revealing secrets, glimpsing the future, etc.)
Illusion – magic of deceiving the senses (seeing what isn’t there, ignoring what is there, etc.)
Transmutation – magic of changing physical properties (growing, shrinking, hardening, etc.)
Conjuration – magic of summoning (calling materials, drawing energies, teleporting creatures, etc.)
Cryomncy – magic of ice (creating / controlling / shaping / manipulating ice, etc.)
Pyromancy – magic of fire (creating / controlling / shaping / manipulating fire, etc.)
Geomancy – magic of the earth (creating / controlling / shaping / manipulating earth, etc.)
Angelology – magic of angels (summoning / controlling angels, mimicking angelic powers, etc.)
Demonology – magic of demons (summoning / controlling angels, mimicking demonic powers, etc.)
Abberant Magic – magic of corruption (misshaping, warping, distorting, etc.)
Chaos Magic – magic of randomness (disintegration, mutation, encouraging entropy, etc.)
Law Magic – magic of order (compulsion, regulation, containment, etc.)
Primal Magic – magic of nature (drawing power from the land, summoning animal spirits, controlling nature, etc.)
Blood Magic – magic of blood (controlling others’ bodies, creating homunculi, binding, etc.)
Faewild Magic – magic of the faery world (manipulating nature, charms, trickery, etc.)
Shamanism – magic of spirits (commanding elemental spirits, summoning ancestors, performing rituals, etc.)
Chronomancy – magic of time (accelerating time, slowing time, stopping time, etc.)
Chromamancy – magic of color (adding colors, removing colors, invisibility, etc.)
Alchemy – magic of chemistry (tinkering with formulae, enchanting potions, crafting mutagens, etc.)
Herbology – magic of plants (distilling poisons, brewing remedies, treating wounds, etc.)
Technomancy – magic of machines (impossible machines, controlling machines, etc.)
Shadow Magic – magic of darkness (creating / controlling / shaping / manipulating darkness, etc.)
Metamagic – magic of magic itself (enhancing magic, dampening magic, canceling magic, etc.)
Oneiromancy – magic of dreams (calling items from dreams, entering dreams, altering perception, etc.)
Runic Magic – magic of runes (augmenting materials, crafting magic items, altering magical properties, etc.)
Astrology – magic of the stars (calling upon your star sign, manipulating fate, predicting the future, etc.)
Arithmancy – magic of mathematics (manipulating ratios, nudging probabilities, lucky numbers, etc.)
Bardic Magic – magic of music (generating music, amplifying sound, inspiring, etc.)
Healing Magic – magic of restoration (channeling positive energy, mending wounds, curing disease, etc.)
Stage Magic – magic of … magicians? (rabbits from hats, flocks of doves, sawing in half, etc.)
Draconic Magic – magic of dragons (summoning / controlling dragons, mimicking draconic powers, etc.)
Hexes – magic of curses (weakening, misdirecting, tormenting, etc.)

- 23 -
Hair
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 Afro Wild Tonsure Asymmetric Bowl Cut Shorn
2 Helmeted Bob Cut Pompadour Patchy Long Curls Blown Out
3 Bald Braided Frosted Caesar Mohawk Pageboy
4 Feathered Cropped Shaggy Jheri Curled Liberty Spikes Curtained
5 Mop Top Mullet Natural Dreadlocks Payot Undercut
6 Rattail Ringlets High and Tight Pixie Cut Slick Spikey

Eyes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 Unwavering Disquieting Radiant Wounded Pure Darting
2 Mesmerizing Piercing Hollow Unnerving Stony Calculating
3 Hungry Empty Burning Flickering Doe Beady
4 Captivating Murky Fierce Predatory Playful Smirking
5 Grim Knowing Joyous Kind Wise Eager
6 Smoldering Warm Animal Dancing Glittering Squinting

Clothing
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 Homemade Inconspicuous Uniform Colorful Expensive Revealing
2 Messy Dirty Bespoke Stylish Comfortable Gaudy
3 Baggy Ragged Cheap Bejeweled Full Disguise Traditional
4 Modern Formalwear Mismatched Protective Scavenger Flowing
5 Monastic Ceremonial Practical Weathered Fur Dark
6 Spandex Blood-Stained Vintage Concealing Archaic Insectoid

- 24 -
Lich Flavors
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 Caramel Chocolate Gingerbread Fruit Jam Sweet Citrus Sour Lemon
2 Dill Pickle Miso Chipotle Sriracha Kimchi Barbecue
3 Fried Pork Grilled Chicken Seared Beef Fresh-Cut Grass Egg Old Blood
4 Wine Dark Rum Champagne Bourbon Gin Absinthe
5 Black Tea Licorice Mayonnaise Peanut Butter Bacon Marshmallow
6 Taco Seasoned Cheesecake Cotton Candy Peppermint Cinnamon Coffee

Ancient Food-Related Specialties

1 2 3 4 5 6
Kneading Shaping Proofing Scoring Piping Cutting
1 Immoveable Amorphous Rotwood Draconic Anarchic Gemstone
Doughs Doughs Doughs Doughs Icings Cookies
Frying Rolling Throwing Crusting Whisking Caramelizing
2 Screaming Halfling Orcish Heretical Eggless Moon
Donuts Croissants Pizza Doughs Pies Meringues Sugars
Tempering Pinching Browning Poaching Rolling Lining
3 Void Microscopic Elven Deathless Reverse Invisible
Chocolates Salts Butters Fruits Pinwheels Pans
Blind Baking Steaming Enriching Setting Churning Sculpting
4 Dwarvish Dread Umbral Lost Flaming Defiant
Pastry Crusts Puddings Breads Custards Ice Creams Fondants
Candying Flambéing Infusing Garnishing Simmering Separating
5 Ghostly Goblin Alchemical Poisoned Sacred Yolkless
Flowers Fruits Alcohols Dishes Sauces Eggs
Testing Cooling Creaming Dusting Whipping Measuring
6 Theoretical Infernal Invulnerable Prismatic Levitating Imaginary
Doneness Cookies Butters Sugars Creams Ingredients

- 25 -
NPC Inadequacies
Set 1
1 They’re extraordinarily sweaty.
2 They think they’re the Lich’s co-host.
3 They insist every bake should be totally deconstructed.
4 Their bakes have soggy bottoms, every time.
5 They’re intangible and can’t affect anything in the kitchen.
6 They’re a hyper-intelligent infant… with infant-level strength and dexterity.

Set 2
1 They have two or more heads that constantly disagree about how to proceed.
2 They have an incredibly high rate of spell misfires.
3 They frequently forget where they are.
4 They spend too much time making all their bakes into elaborate miniatures.
5 They’re too busy socializing with the other competitors.
6 Their overflowing magical energies mana-burn all their bakes.

Set 3
1 They are followed by “helpful” rats. Everywhere.
2 Their bakes frequently achieve sentience.
3 They’re allergic to almost everything, but especially the Lich’s phylactery flavor.
4 They’re not an adventurer but rather just a really-talented-but-totally-mundane baker here by mistake.
5 The only seasoning they use is salt.
6 They’re a catperson whose hair is always shedding into their bakes

Magi Tux thinks every

bake should have fish in it.

- 26 -
 Set 4
1 They try to multitask with their psionic powers but are always getting distracted.
2 They pander to the Lich’s phylactery flavor and put it in everything the bake.
3 The refuse to look at recipes and estimate all their measurements (poorly).
4 They spend the entire competition sleepwalking / sleepbaking.
5 They can’t stop crying at everything.
6 They’re plagued by faeries at the most inconvenient moments.

Set 5
1 The mechanized constructs they brought to assist them are terrible at following instructions.
2 They’re merely a talking sword.
3 Their animal companion / familiar is desperate for attention.
4 Their divine / otherworldly patron scrambled their sense of taste.
5 They frequently transmute one of their ingredients into something inedible.
6 They have a rival adventurer that keeps interrupting their efforts in order to duel them.

Set 6
1 They’re experiencing time backward.
2 The elementals in the kitchen constantly fight against them.
3 They’re followed by a ghost that haunts their bakes.
4 They suffer fits of lycanthropy that interrupt their work.
5 They are afflicted with a family curse that makes them extremely hungry.
6 They’re a humanoid construct that has not yet learned to love.

If Remy could have stayed

awake long enough to
present their bakes at the
altar, they certainly would
have won.

- 27 -
 Campaign Sheet
Lich Information
Lich Name:

Phylactery Flavor: Ancient Baking Specialty:

Eyes: Hair: Clothes:

Rounds
(Each round, roll a die for the Lich’s Criteria: 1-2 = Presentation, 3-4 = Flavor, 5-6 = Magic)

Round Category Lich’s Criteria Archbaker?

NPC Information
NPC Name: NPC Name:

Inadequacy: Inadequacy:

Look: Look:

NPC Name: NPC Name:

Inadequacy: Inadequacy:

Look: Look:

Phylactery Destruction Track

(Freeing the Lich requires [number of PCs - 1] Bake Off rolls with results ≧10 before the end of the game)

⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜ ⬜
 Character Sheet
Competitor Name:

Signature Ingredient: School of Magic:

I seek the artifact Eyes:

Hair:
because…

Clothes:

Challenges
(At the beginning of every round, active competitors will assign a +1 and -1 shift to two of their stats)

Round Recipe Notes Presentation Flavor Magic

Other Notes:
 Phases in the First Four Rounds
The first four rounds of the competition move through the same phases:
1. Assign Stats (p. 7)
At the beginning of every round, active competitors will assign a +1 and -1 shift to two of their stats.
A player who was awarded Archbaker will assign a +2 and -2 shift to two of their stats instead.

2. Determine the Lich’s Criteria (p. 7)

Each round, roll a die for the Lich’s Criteria: 1-2 = Presentation, 3-4 = Flavor, 5-6 = Magic

3. Describe Bakes (p. 7)

When all players are ready, they share their bakes with the rest of the table.
Players are encouraged to include as many supporting details based
on their signature ingredient and specialty school of magic as they would like.

4. Roll Moves (p. 8)

Assist Interference Bake Off
After players have announced After players have announced Each round, active players must
their bakes, you can help another their bakes, you can attempt to present their bake to the Lich’s
competitor. help even after your elimination. altar for judgment.

5. Award Archbaker (p. 9)

Eligible frontrunners should roll 2d6 + Magic.
The player with the highest roll is awarded Archbaker; other players are safe for the round.
If only one player is a frontrunner, they are automatically awarded Archbaker.

6. Eliminate a Competitor (p. 9)

If only one player is up for elimination and there are still NPCs, the player must roll 2d6 + Magic ≧7.
If only one player is up for elimination and there are no NPCs remaining, the player is automatically eliminated.
If more than one player is up for elimination and there are still NPCs, each player must roll 2d6 + Magic ≧7.
All potential eliminees roll ≧7: choose an NPC to eliminate instead.
Otherwise, the player with the lowest roll is eliminated from the competition.
If all players were frontrunners or were safe, then an NPC will be eliminated this round.
Determine which NPC will leave the competition at random, by player vote, or by considering the narrative thus far.
However, if all NPCs are eliminated, then a player will need to be eliminated
even if they were all frontrunners or safe! All players should roll 2d6 + Magic.
The player with the with lowest roll is eliminated, and all other players move on to the next round.

During and in between phases, players are encouraged to narrate any details relevant to their character. This
includes their baking, magic, and any “talking head” asides their character might make about their fellow
competitors or the competition itself.

- 30 -
 Phases in the Final Round
The final round has unique phases:
1. Setting the Stage (p. 10)
Before continuing, take a moment to describe what has changed for the final round of the competition.

2. Assign Stats (p. 7)

At the beginning of every round, active competitors will assign a +1 and -1 shift to two of their stats.
A player who was awarded Archbaker will assign a +2 and -2 shift to two of their stats instead.

3. Determine the Lich’s Criteria (p. 7)

Each round, roll a die for the Lich’s Criteria: 1-2 = Presentation, 3-4 = Flavor, 5-6 = Magic

4. Describe Bakes (p. 7)

When all players are ready, they share their bakes with the rest of the table.
Players are encouraged to include as many supporting details based
on their signature ingredient and specialty school of magic as they would like.

5. Roll Moves (p. 8)

Assist Interference Bake Off
After players have announced After players have announced Each round, active players must
their bakes, you can help another their bakes, you can attempt to present their bake to the Lich’s
competitor. help even after your elimination. altar for judgment.

6. Destroying the Phylactery (p. 10)

The player with the highest Bake Off roll this round describes the award ceremony at the end of the competition.
That player is presented with the artifact they sought, and then the Lich’s phylactery is possibly destroyed.
In order to destroy the Lich’s phylactery and set their soul free,
the players need to have accumulated enough Bake Off rolls with successes ≧10.
The number of successes necessary to destroy the phylactery equals the number of players minus one.

7. Narrating the Epilogue (p. 10)

Starting with the winner of round five, each player should take a moment
to describe what happens to them now that the competition is over.
If the Lich’s phylactery was not destroyed, what does the Lich decide to do next?

During and in between phases, players are encouraged to narrate any details relevant to their character. This
includes their baking, magic, and any “talking head” asides their character might make about their fellow
competitors or the competition itself.

- 31 -
Acknowledgments
Thanks and praise must be heaped upon the television series The Great British Bake Off for all the peaceful
evenings it’s brought me and for inspiring me to create this game. Mary Berry, if you ever somehow see this, I
think you’re so amazing, and I hope that this comes off as the loving homage I intended for it to be (Oh, and
you’re pretty cool too, Paul Hollywood).

I initially started this project thanks to the 200 Word RPG Challenge, and so I’d like to thank them for inspiring
me to give this whole game design thing a shot.

My amazing husband Austin deserves endless thanks, not only for tolerating me when I create meta-narratives
for everything around me but also for supporting me through all my creative endeavors.

Thanks to Karl and Charlie for letting me bounce ideas off them about the mechanics and for helping me make
the game easy to understand and fun to play.

Thanks to Nick and Lucy for encouraging me with my illustrations and helping me break the project into
achievable chunks.

Finally, I am so grateful for the honest input I received from my playtesters. Watching them play and listening to
their feedback enabled me to refine my drafts into a game that actually matched my vision.

About the Author

Peter Reitz is a high school teacher in northeast Georgia. He’s
been playing video games his entire life and started playing
tabletop games in college (his first character ever was an elven
cleric of Corellon Larethian in Dungeons & Dragons 3.5e). He is
obsessed with cooking shows, mythology, faeries, Old
Testament angels, and Southern Gothic literature. This is the first
tabletop game he has published.

You can connect with Peter at tritonis.games@gmail.com

- 32 -